Cassini plasma spectrometer turned off

Scientists have used use Cassini's plasma spectrometer instrument to study Saturn's magnetic and plasma environment near Enceladus.

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The Cassini plasma spectrometer instrument (CAPS) aboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft has been turned off due to some unexpected voltage shifts after a circuit breaker tripped off.
According to a NASA report, CAPS was turned off sometime between Friday June 1 and Saturday June 2. NASA engineers are currently investigating the issue, which is believed to be due to short circuits in the instrument.
In a similar incident, the instrument was turned off in June 2011 but was switched on again in March 2012 after the investigators found that tin plating on electronic components had grown "whiskers" large enough to contact another conducting surface and carry electrical current, resulting in a voltage shift.
It was previously believed that "whiskers" were not capable of carrying sufficient current to cause any damage and the voltage shifts did not have any effect on normal spacecraft operations because the power subsystem is designed to operate in the presence of such shifts.
CAPS is one of the instruments onboard Cassini that helps scientist investigate different features of Saturn and its moons.
Scientists have used Cassini's plasma spectrometer instrument to study Saturn's magnetic and plasma environment near its moon Enceladus.
The probe’s Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer instrument have also helped astronomers to learn more about the composition, density and variability of the plume from Enceladus.
The composite infrared spectrometer onboard Cassini has also been used to detect and locate the hot spots on Enceladus and the imaging cameras have been taking pictures.
NASA launched the Cassini spacecraft in 1997 and its mission has been extended several times, most recently until 2017.
TNP/HGH